Improvement in railroad-signals



FITZPATRIGK & GARDNER. Railroad Signal.

No. 43,841. Patented Aug; 16, 1864.

L (JLJLJ 2: 1 y wvtne S6768" l UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- LEWIS FITZPA'IRIOK AND WILLIAM W. GARDNER, OF NIOHOLSVILLE, OHIO.

IMPROVEMENT IN RAILROAD-SIGNALS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 43.841, dated August 16, 1t 64.

To all? whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, LEWIS FI'IZPATRICK and WILLIAM W. GARDNER, both of Nicholsville, Olermont county, Ohio, have invented a new and useful Alarm for ltailwayOrossings and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawing, making part of this specification.

Our invention relates to an automatic provision for giving notice or warning at railwaycrossings of an approaching train.

A represents the track of a railroad. B represents a point where said track is crossed by a common road. (J is a rock-shaft, journaled underneath and athwa-rt the track in hangers l). Projecting rigidly from the rockshaft 0 is an arm, E, to which is hinged a trigger, F, which extends upward through a slot, Gr, in the rail. The shaft 0 also carries a beam, H, to whose extremities are hinged rods I I, which rods are hinged to a bellcrank, J, journaled in astandard, K. A wire, L, extending from thebell crank Jis attached to a second bellcrank, M, which is so weighted as to drop of its own accord to the position shown after being temporarily elevated by G, may be employed, which will act to return I the trigger F by a positive force at the passage of each and every wheel of the train. In their resting condition the triggers F F are pressed against the shoulders of the slots G G by means of springs O O.

Them 0st dan gerou s crossings are well known to be those approached by sharp curves which hide the approaching train. In such curves the wire. does not require to follow the line of railroad, but may with more advantage be stretched along the chord of the are.

Operation A train approaching in direction of the arrow, the tread of each wheel on one side presses in succession on the toprof the trigger F and causes a continuous and loud ringing of the bell N, which continues during the whole period of the passage of the train, and for sometime thereafter, thus anticithe locomotive-whistle, and in the event of the latter signal being omitted by the enginedriver, either from inadvertence or otherwise, our automatic alarm will supply the necessary warning.

A train approaching our trigger from the crossing will act merely to deflect the trigger to the position indicated by red lines and will give therefore no false alarm.

An apparatus such as above described may be placed in each direction from a crossing so that a train approaching from either direction will operate the alarm.

We claim herein as new and of our invention- The arrangement of the treadle or trigger F, connected by devices 0 H I I J K L M, or

their equivalents, to a bell,N, suspended near.

a railway-crossing, by which the said trigger is depressed and the bell rung by all trains approaching the crossing and only deflected by trains leaving the crossing, substantially as set forth.

In testimony of which invention we hereunto set our hands.

LEWIS FITZPATRIOK. W. W. GARDNER.

Witnesses:

GEo. H. KNIGHT, JAMES H. LAYMAN. 

